


Squad

by SmoshArrowverseFan



Category: Smosh
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fights, IM DED, Tutoring, also sorry 4 the sucky title bros, also sorry if this isnt great i wrote it in two days and havent looked it over, anyway yeah hope u enjoy, but idk i didnt highlight them enough, ill do a squad centric fic soon, sorry i didnt give enough time to the squad, u kno i love high school aus, weirdly enough theyre my faves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 14:32:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15584007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmoshArrowverseFan/pseuds/SmoshArrowverseFan
Summary: Ian Hecox and his best friend sign up to tutor kids every Tuesday and Thursday during third period. It isn't at all what Ian was expecting. He thinks it might be better than that.





	Squad

Ian really didn't know what he was expecting when he signed up to tutor younger students every Tuesday and Thursday during third period, but it definitely wasn't this. He and his best friend, Anthony, had signed up for the same slots because, hey, it's a good opportunity to get some credit senior year, they might as well do it together.

The first Tuesday session, Anthony had gone to pick up his students, and Ian had picked up his. Ian was tutoring Mari Takahashi, a junior he kind of knew. And by kind of knew, he meant he'd heard people talking about her, and had seen her in the halls sometimes. She was... kind of hard to miss, with her unique style and dyed hair.

He was also tutoring Wes Johnson, another junior, who he'd definitely never heard of. He was kind of confused as to why Wes even needed a tutor, since he had signed up to get help with english, but he was taking an AP English class and getting a B plus. Ian had taken that class over the summer and gotten a B, so he wasn't sure how much help he'd be, but he'd try his best. Finally, he was tutoring Matt Sohinki, who was also a junior, but was in their AP English class. Matt was kind of quiet, gave off 'leave me alone' vibes, and to be honest, Ian was kind of scared of the guy. But hey, if he needed help, it was Ian's job to help him out, so he could get over it.

Anthony was assigned to tutor David Moss, who, honestly scared Ian even more. He was a junior as well, and he was constantly getting into fights. But again, if Anthony had to tutor the guy, he had to tutor the guy.

He was also tutoring Joshua Ovenshire, a junior who Ian and Anthony had kind of hung out with a few times. Meaning, they had some mutual friends, so they'd seen each other at a few parties. He seemed nice enough, if a little easily angered when playing monopoly.

Ian had picked up Wes and Mari first, because they were in the same math class. Ian waited outside for the previous class to end. The bell rang, and students quickly started streaming out. He recognized Mari as one of the first ones out and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to face him, clearly not recognizing him.

"Hello?"

"Um, sorry, I'm Ian Hecox, I'm supposed to be tutoring you?" Ian said. Mari's face immediately relaxed.

"Oh, Ian! Right. Um, so should we get going?"

"Uh, actually, you're not the only person I'm tutoring in this time slot. Do you know Wes Johnson?" Ian asked. Mari turned to look behind her.

"He's right there, I'll go grab him," She said, not giving him a chance to reply before running off to catch up with him. Ian watched as she stopped a tall silver haired guy. She said something to him and he nodded. They walked back to Ian.

"Hey," The guy said with a smile.

"Hi, Wes, right?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Alright, so there's one more person you're tutoring?" Mari asked. Ian nodded.

"Yeah, Matt Sohinki. He should be coming out of history right now, with Mrs. Smith," Ian said, heading toward Mrs. Smith's classroom, Wes and Mari in tow. As he reached it, he saw Matt walk out and quickly turn a corner. Damn, did the administrators not tell these people to wait for him? Ian jogged to catch up to Matt.

"Hey, Matt!" Ian called. Matt turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Um, I'm supposed to be tutoring you today," Ian said. Matt frowned.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Um, we're just gonna head down to the library, then," Ian said, walking toward the library. Mari, Wes, and Matt followed. When they reached the library, Anthony was already waiting there with David and Joshua. He noticed Ian and waved him over to the table they were sitting at. Joshua looked like he was closely inspecting the wooden grain in the table, and David was staring off into space. It was rather unsettling, actually.

Ian took a seat next to Anthony, and Wes sat on his other side. Mari sat next to Wes, and Matt sat across the table, next to David. Ian cleared his throat.

"Alright, hi. So, I'm Ian, this is Anthony. We're, uh, supposed to be tutoring you guys. I mean, I'm supposed to be tutoring some of you and Anthony's supposed to be tutoring some of you, but-"

"But we thought it'd be easier if both of us were tutoring all of you. You know, so we can help you guys out, and you guys can help each other out, right?" Anthony said. The people at the table seemed utterly disinterested.

"Right," Matt said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you guys just wanted to hang out and not have to work as much," Mari said. Ian coughed.

"Maybe that's part of it," Anthony said.

"Most of it," David added.

"Look, whatever, explaining this was a bad idea. Um, let's just get into it, alright? Do you all know each other?" Ian asked. Everyone nodded. "Okay. Then is there anything you guys need help with right now?"

"Uh, yeah, I've got this paper I'm writing on Othello, do you think you could read over it for me?" Wes asked. Ian nodded.

"Sure, do you have it with you?"

"Yeah, here," Wes grabbed his backpack and swung it on the table. He unzipped it and rifled through it, looking for the paper. After a moment, he pulled a crumpled stack of papers out and handed them to Ian, before putting his backpack on the ground again.

"Tell me what you think!" Wes smiled. Ian started reading over the paper.

"Alright, does anyone else need help with anything?" Anthony asked.

"Look, I'm not doing this because I want to. I'm doing it because my English teacher said I'd get extra credit if I gave up my free period for this. So why don't you do me a favor and let me ditch?" Matt said, annoyed. Anthony frowned.

"I can't do that, if someone sees you out of the library, we'd get in trouble. Well, Ian would get in trouble, I'm not technically tutoring you."

"Alright, fine. But I'm not gonna do any work."

"I can't make you do anything you don't want to do," Anthony said.

"Then don't try."

Ian had finished reading Wes' essay and didn't really have much to add. Wes was... really good at English. Like, probably better than Ian. He really wasn't sure why he was tutoring the guy.

"Wes, this is great. I, uh, don't really have anything to improve here."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's a really good paper."

"Thanks!"

"Uh, no problem," Ian said. The table sat in awkward silence for a moment. Mari coughed.

"Alright, this is lame. If we're not actually going to work, we're going to do something," Anthony said.

"Wanna smoke?" David asked, pulling a rolled blunt out of his pocket.

"What- were you just carrying that?" Ian asked.

"Well, do you?"

"I- in here?"

"Yeah?"

"I mean- the librarian's right over there!"

"So?"

"We'd get in trouble or something," Ian said. David laughed quietly.

"Dude, I smoke in here all the time, we'd be fine."

"I think we're good, thanks," Anthony said.

"Alright, if you say so," David said, shrugging and putting the blunt away.

"Uh, any more suggestions?" Ian asked.

"We could... just talk?" Wes said. Ian nodded.

"Alright sure."

"Any of you guys play video games?" Joshua asked. Matt laughed.

"Who doesn't? Everyone at least plays the sims."

"At least? The sims is fun," Wes said.

"Okay, true," Matt said.

"Well, what games do you play then?" Joshua asked.

"I mean, I like Hearthstone. How about you?"

"I like the Mass Effect games, Final Fantasy Three... Super Smash Bros."

"Ooh, I like the Zelda games a lot," Wes added.

"My personal favorites are the Assassins Creed games. And Just Dance, that one's fun," Anthony said.

"I like to play those weird indie games, you know. Like whatever one all the Youtubers and twitch streamers are playing."

"Guys, why are none of you saying Mario Kart?" Ian asked.

"Oh my god, I'm the best at Mario Kart. I love Mario Kart so much," Joshua said.

"Same," David said.

"We should totally be playing Mario Kart instead of getting tutored," Matt said.

"Matt..."

"Kidding, Jesus. Kind of."

"If you say so."

"Hey, sorry, but does anyone have any food? I'm starving," Wes said. Anthony frowned.

"There's no food allowed in the library..."

"It's fine, Anthony. Uh, I don't have much, but I've got this lollypop," Ian handed Wes a blue raspberry lollypop a teacher had given him the other day.

"Thanks!"

"No problem."

The rest of the session went similarly, which is to say, it was consistently awkward. On Thursday, they were tutoring different people, all of them sophomores. Ian was tutoring Noah Grossman and Courtney Miller, and Anthony was tutoring Shayne Topp, Keith Leak Jr., and Olivia Sui. They were already waiting in the library when they got there, because apparently sophomores were more coordinated than juniors and seniors. Ian and Anthony sat down with them.

"Hey. I'm Ian, this is Anthony, we're gonna be tutoring you guys. Was there anything anyone needed help with in particular?"

"Uh, yeah, actually. I'm kind of understanding everything, but I'm just like... super disorganized... so I keep missing assignments. Do you think one of you could help me organize my papers or something?" Courtney asked. Anthony nodded.

"Yeah sure, I can help you with that. Let's see your papers," He said. Courtney opened her backpack and pulled out a giant loose stack of papers.

"Here we go."

"Okay, Jesus Christ, that's a lot of papers... How much of that do you think you actually need?" Anthony asked.

"I honestly don't know..."

"Okay, does anyone else need help with something?" Ian asked.

"Do you think someone could help me with these math problems? I suck at math..." Keith said.

"Actually, I could probably work with you on that, it looks like I'm a year ahead of you," Noah offered.

"Oh, neat," Keith said.

"That's a good idea. Olivia, Shayne, you need anything?"

"Not right now, really. I think I'll just read if that's okay?" Shayne asked.

"Yeah sure, go ahead. If there is anything you think of that you need, don't hesitate to let me or Anthony know. Olivia? You need anything?"

"Yeah, do you think you could help me go over this chemistry test?"

"Sure," Ian said, moving over to the other side of the table to sit next to Olivia.

The Thursday session was a lot more productive than the Tuesday session had been. Ian was much more relaxed working with the younger kids. The sessions were pretty similar after that, with not much happening on Tuesdays, and actual work being done on Thursdays.

One Tuesday a few weeks after the first session, Ian and Anthony were waiting in the library for Wes to show up. Everyone else was already there, already bored and staring off into space. Five minutes after the bell rang, Matt sighed.

"Why are we even waiting for him? He probably skipped."

"I don't think Wes would do that," Ian said. Matt shrugged.

"You never know."

"I think we should look for him," Anthony said. Ian nodded.

"Yeah, good idea."

"You can look on the first and second floors, I'll look on the third and fourth," Anthony said. Matt looked up.

"What, so you're just gonna leave us here?" He asked. Ian frowned.

"No, we're not... Matt and David, you come with me. Mari and Joshua, you can go with Anthony," Ian said, standing up. The others got up after him. Ian led the way out of the library and into the hall. Anthony, Mari, and Joshua split off from the other three when they reached a staircase.

"I still think he skipped," Matt said.

"Really, you think Wes skipped?" David asked.

"I mean, I wish I had."

"Doesn't matter. We're talking about Wes."

"Whatever."

They walked through the main hallway on the first floor, returning back to the library after not finding a sign of Wes. Ian looked back inside, and neither Anthony nor Wes was sitting in the library.

"Alright, guess we're going to the second floor," Ian said. He walked back to the staircase and quickly climbed up. He started to walk when he heard a loud crash come from somewhere to his right, and then a pained gasp.

"Did you hear that?" Ian asked. David and Matt nodded. Ian opened the bathroom door slowly, the other two behind him. A group of three guys was standing around someone on the floor, who Ian had a sinking suspicion was Wes. Probably Wes seemed to be in a fetal position, as the guys kicked him. Ian took a shaky step forward to confront the guys, but before he could do anything, David had pushed past him and jumped toward one of the guys, tackling him to the ground.

The other guys looked up quickly, noticing Matt and Ian standing in the doorway. One of them moved toward the two, while the other tried to pull David off of his friend. Ian moved to take a defensive stance, but his idea of a defensive stance came from video games, so he really had no idea what he was doing. Matt didn't hesitate to throw a punch at the guy, and landed it just below his jaw. The guy stumbled back, before shoving Matt back against the wall. Ian felt dumb standing there still in the same stance, so he kicked the guy in the shin.

The guy looked more pissed than hurt, and reached out to grab Ian and lift him up. Ian kicked at the guy, but it was no use, as he didn't even seem to notice Ian's kicks. The guy slammed Ian against the wall, and then dropped him as Matt ran forward to kick him in the balls, but missed and kicked him in the leg. The guy punched Matt in the eye, and then again on the side of his face. Ian, recovering from his dazed state, stumbled to his feet and ran at the guy, knocking him into one of the stalls. Again, the guy seemed more angry than hurt. Jesus, this guy had to be on something.

Wes was still curled up on the floor, and David was fighting two guys at once. Matt and Ian weren't really fighting, it was more like they were running at this guy so they would get beaten up. Things weren't exactly looking great.

The guy shoved Ian into one of the sinks, and he crumpled to the ground. He'd never been in a fight before, let alone been in a fight with a buff probably-on-drugs jock. Well, pretty wild for his first fight.

He saw Matt get pushed to the ground next to Wes. He tried to get up, but fell back down quickly. The other guys had finally managed to get David down as well, and were kicking him similarly to how they'd been kicking Wes, although David kept trying to get up. Ian sighed, not having the energy to move. The guys were laughing, kicking David over and over again, and Ian just wanted them to leave. Finally, Ian's prayers were answered. One of the guys stopped.

"Dude, this is boring as fuck. Wanna skip and go to 7-eleven?"

"Yeah, I'm down," Another one said. The third one nodded, and the three guys left the bathroom. David winced, getting to his feet. Ian tried to do the same, but fell back to the ground.

"Damn, that was..." David trailed off.

"Painful," Matt finished.

"Yeah."

"Wes, you okay?" David asked. Wes was still in the fetal position. When he was unresponsive, David's face tightened with worry. "Wes?"

"Shit, he's not responding," Matt said.

"Yeah, no shit!" David said. Matt frowned.

"Damn, no need to bite my head off."

"Sorry, I'm just tense," David said. He frowned, considering what to do. "Ian, are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me, check on Wes," Ian said, though his words were slightly slurred. David considered this.

"Matt, can you get over there to check on Ian?"

"Yeah, sure," Matt said, crawling over to Ian and seeing how much damage had been done. At the same time, David tapped Wes on the shoulder lightly. Wes jumped, looking up at the red haired boy.

"David?" He said.

"Hey, Wes. You okay?"

"I think so... What happened?"

"You didn't show up for tutoring, so we came to look for you, and we saw those assholes kicking you, so we... came to get you," David said. Wes frowned.

"Wait, you fought them?" He asked, and then looked over to see Matt and Ian in the corner. "Oh my god, are they okay?"

"We'll be fine, don't worry," Matt said. Ian nodded.

"Yeah..."

"Where are they?" Wes asked.

"They left to go to 7-eleven," David shrugged.

"Oh. Okay. Where's Anthony and Mari and Joshua?"

"They went to check the other floors," David explained.

"Makes sense," Wes said.

"Alright, are we gonna sit in this bathroom forever, or are we gonna get to the nurse? Because I don't know about anyone else, but Ian definitely needs to get checked out, and I wouldn't mind an ice pack either," Matt said. David nodded.

"Wes, can you walk?"

"I... think so," Wes said, using the stall to pull himself up. David did the same, and then moved to help Matt and Ian up. Wes followed him, limping slightly. David reached his hand toward Matt, who took it and winced as he got to his feet. Wes tried to help Ian up the same way, but the shorter guy just fell back to the ground. Wes frowned.

"What should we do?"

"I would saw one of us could carry him, but I don't know if any of us are really in a state to do that right now. Uh, maybe one of us could get on one side of him and the other could get on the other?" David offered.

"Alright. But I'm kind of taller than all of you, so..."

"Matt, do you think you could help?" David asked. Matt nodded.

"Sure, I can try."

Matt crouched down on Ian's left, and David on his right. They each swung one of his arms around their shoulders, and then lifted him up. Matt stumbled slightly, but regained his footing.

"Damn, they really got him," David commented.

"I can... hear you, you know," Ian said. David smiled slightly.

"Let's just get you down to the nurse."

Wes held the door open for the other three as they awkwardly made their way through the doorway. Wes followed them down the stairs, prepared to catch any of them if they fell. Thankfully, it was the middle of class and the hallways were empty, otherwise they would have been jostled. The nurse's office was close to the stairs, so they didn't have too much walking to do after that.

The nurse looked up as they walked in, then frowned as she saw the state of the boys.

"What happened?" She asked, concerned.

"Well-" Ian started, but David cut him off.

"We got into a fight," David said simply. The nurse sighed.

"Really, David?"

"This one wasn't my fault, actually. Can you check on my friends here?" He asked. The nurse nodded, and got to work checking on Ian.

"What's your name?"

"Ian... Hecox," Ian answered.

"Alright, Ian. How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad... my head hurts a little, and my vision is a little blurry..." Ian offered. The nurse frowned, and held up her fingers.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked. Ian took a moment to count.

"Four," He decided. The nurse walked to her freezer and pulled out an ice pack.

"You've got a pretty nasty bump on your head there, let's put some ice on it," She said, handing him the ice, and moving his arm so he was applying it to the bump.

"Thanks."

"You're very welcome. I'm just going to call your parent or guardian. They should take you to a doctor to get you checked out, but it looks like you've got a mild concussion. You said your name was Ian Hecox, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Alright, then let me just make that quick phone call, and I'll be right back. The rest of you, feel free to get an ice pack from the freezer there, and take a seat," She said, before walking to the back room to call Ian's mom.

Matt quickly moved to get ice from the fridge, handing one pack to David, and one to Wes, before grabbing one for himself.

"I'm really sorry about that guys, you really didn't have to go looking for me," Wes frowned, looking at the ground.

"We didn't, but... I'm glad we did," Matt admitted.

"Yeah," Ian agreed. Wes smiled at them.

"Well... thanks then," He said. David nodded.

"No problem."

"Damn, Anthony's probably so confused right now..." Ian said. David laughed.

"Do you want to text him or something to let him know where we are?"

"Oh... good idea," He said, reaching for his phone.

"Woah, wait, no. You aren't supposed to look at screens and shit when you've got a concussion," Matt said. Ian nodded, considering this, and handed his phone to David, who looked at it, slightly confused.

"You text him," Ian said.

"I don't have your password," David said.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I forgot. It's 9660."

David typed the password in, and then went to message Anthony. He considered the message, before typing something.

"How's this sound? 'Hey Anthony, it's David. We found Wes, got in a fight, and now we're at the nurse. xoxo.'" David smiled. Ian laughed.

"Yeah, that's good. Send it," He said. David hit send. Almost immediately after, the phone buzzed with a reply from Anthony. David read it quickly.

"He says he's coming right over," David said. A few moments later, the door opened, and Anthony walked into the nurse's office, Mari and Joshua in tow. Their eyes widened when they saw the state of the room.

"Jesus fuck, what happened?" Joshua asked, as Anthony immediately headed to sit with Ian. Mari and Joshua shifted awkwardly in the doorway.

"Some assholes were giving Wes a hard time, and we stepped in. We kind of got messed up, though. The nurse said Ian probably has a mild concussion," David explained. Anthony, Mari, and Joshua took this in.

"Damn," Joshua said.

"Yeah."

"Who were the assholes?" Mari asked. David shrugged.

"I didn't recognize them."

"Um, that's Jack Clarke, Danny Goldman, and Philip Banner," Wes said. Mari groaned.

"Oh my god, I hate them. They're such dicks. I'll give them some serious shit next time I see them."

"They seemed like dicks," Matt said.

"It's not really a big deal, guys," Wes frowned.

"Um, yes? It is? They could have seriously hurt you, or any of us," Matt said. Wes shrugged.

"They would have left me alone eventually."

"Do they... do people do that often?" David asked, concerned. Wes shrugged.

"I mean... yeah, sometimes."

"Jesus Christ," Anthony groaned.

"You're a pretty fit guy, why don't you fight back?" Matt asked. Wes frowned.

"I don't really like fighting, and it's not like it'd be any help. They'd come back later even more pissed," He said nonchalantly. David frowned.

"You're right, but that doesn't mean you have to take it."

"I don't know, okay?" Wes said defensively. Just then, the nurse came back into the room, doing a double take when she saw that there were more kids than there were when she had left.

"Oh, hello. Ian, your mom's coming to pick you up, okay? Could one of you get his stuff for him?"

"I can," Anthony said, getting up and heading to get Ian's bag. She turned to Matt, Wes, and David.

"Do any of you need anything other than ice and a little rest?" She asked. The three shook their heads. "Alright. Do any of you want me to call home?"

"No, thank you," Wes said. Matt nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"David?"

"No, my dad would kill me if he knew I got into another fight," David shrugged.

"Won't he notice if you've got a giant bruise on your face?" Matt asked. David frowned.

"Yeah, probably."

"Why don't you come over to my place then? My folks won't notice," Matt offered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble. The rest of you are invited too, if you want," Matt said.

"Um, I'd have to check with my mom first..." Joshua said.

"That's chill. Mari, Wes, David, Ian? How about you?"

"I'm... probably just going to the doctor and then I'm gonna chill at home with Anthony. So I'll have to pass on this one," Ian frowned.

"It's fine, we'll just have to hang out another time. What about the rest of you guys?"

"I'd like to come over, if you'd really want me there," Wes said. Matt nodded.

"Yeah, of course we'd want you there."

"I can come too," Mari said.

"Neat. David?"

"I... sure. Okay," David said. Matt smiled.

"Okay, cool. We can play Mario Kart or something."

"Whoa, Mario Kart? Already? We're already testing the bounds of this friendship?" David asked. Wes paused.

"We're... friends?"

"I mean... yeah, I think we are. I think the fact that we got beat up for you kinda cemented that," Matt shrugged.

"Sorry about that..."

"Seriously, it's fine," Matt said. Anthony returned with Ian's bag, and soon after, Ian's mom showed up to pick him up. David made a group chat with all of their numbers before Ian left, and soon after, the bell rang. The nurse shooed Anthony, Mari, and Joshua back off to class. Wes, David, and Matt were allowed to stay until after lunch, and then they had to go to class as well.

They met up outside after school was over. Matt's house was really close to the school, so they could leave their cars and walk over. On the way, they passed a 7-eleven, and David paused to look inside.

"Wanna grab something to eat? I'm hungry."

"Didn't those guys say they were going to 7-eleven?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, but I checked, they aren't in this one, so we should be fine."

"Okay, then I guess we can get something, if that's cool with everyone," Matt shrugged. Wes perked up.

"Ooh, let me pay for everything! You know, as like, a thank you for earlier, and for letting me come over!" He said. Matt was about to decline, but he saw how Wes seemed genuinely excited to pay for their food. He had seemed kind of guilty about the whole fight, and even though he didn't really mind, if it would make Wes feel better, he wouldn't decline.

"Alright, if you really want to, that'd be really nice," Matt said. Wes smiled.

"I do want to."

They walked into the 7-eleven, Wes immediately heading for the candy. Matt followed him, since he wanted to buy some sour gummy worms. Mari and Joshua walked to grab chips, and David went straight for the sodas. They met back up near the counter, and put their purchases on the counter. The cashier rang them up and gave them their total. Wes pulled out a credit card, and soon, everything was paid for, and they were out the door.

They reached Matt's house. Matt opened the door, glanced into the living room, and then stepped back outside.

"Okay, we're gonna go up to the attic. Um, try not to make too much noise on your way up, my mom's sleeping," He said, before stepping back inside and heading up the stairs. The other four followed him. They reached the attic and dumped the food on the floor. Matt's attic was cozy, with a couch against one wall and a TV opposite it. There wasn't much space in between the couch and the TV, but there was a little space off to the side, closer to the stairs, and a neat shelf that wrapped around the walls. There was a grey rug on the floor, and a couple small windows. All in all, it was a nice space.

"Alright, welcome to my attic," Matt said, making a wide sweeping gesture with his arms.

"It's a nice attic," Joshua said.

"Thanks. Do you guys want to play something, then?" Matt asked.

"Didn't you mention Mario Kart earlier?"

"I did. Want to start with that?"

"Yeah, sure."

They loaded up the game and started to play. Things quickly got intense when Matt used a blue shell on Joshua while he was in the lead. Joshua groaned.

"Jesus, Sohinki, you really don't hold back!" He shouted.

"Sohinki? Damn, we're really bringing out the last name?"

"It kinda suits you," Wes said.

"Well, yeah, it should, it's my name," Matt shrugged.

"Honestly, I think it fits you better than Matt. I'm calling you Sohinki from now on," Wes said. Sohinki shrugged.

"Do what you want, man."

"Ooh, are we getting nicknames? I already have one for me, it's actually my gamertag," Joshua said.

"What is it?" Mari asked.

"The Jovenshire!" Joshua said dramatically.

"The Jovenshire? Really?" Sohinki laughed.

"Yeah, Joshua Ovenshire. The Jovenshire!"

"Where does the the come from?" David asked, snickering.

"Well... I don't know, it sounded cool when I came up with it," Joshua shrugged.

"How about just... Joven," Mari suggested. Joven frowned.

"Close enough."

"How about you, Wes?" Mari asked.

"Hm?"

"Do you have a nickname?"

"Wes is my nickname. Short for Wesley."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," Mari laughed.

"What about you?"

"My name's a nickname already too."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Short for Mariko," Mari said.

"Neat," Wes said. Everyone looked to David.

"What?"

"Do you have a nickname?" Sohinki asked.

"I mean... you could probably call me Dave," David shrugged.

"No-" Joven was cut off.

"No way, you're not a Dave," Sohinki said.

"Yeah, that doesn't fit you," Mari agreed.

"We could call you... like... Redhead or something?" Wes suggested. Mari shook her head.

"Wes, you're trying, but... no. Redhead?"

"Maybe Red?" Wes tried.

"No..."

"I mean, what if I decide to dye my hair a different color?" David asked.

"Good point," Wes admitted.

"Weren't you talking about your tattoo last week? Like the laser unicorn one?" Joven asked. David glanced at him.

"Yeah?"

"Can I call you Lasercorn?" Joven asked.

"I'm... weirdly okay with that," Lasercorn shrugged.

"Alright, then I guess that's... that's it. You're Lasercorn now," Joven said.

"Sick."

They played various games after that for a few hours, eating the food that they'd bought earlier. They discovered that Wes liked... basically every kind of candy. It was a little while later when Joven checked the time on his phone.

"Shit, it's late," He said. It was eleven, and he was usually home by that time. Sohinki looked at the time as well.

"Oh, it kinda is. I can walk you guys back to pick up your cars if you want. And uh, Lasercorn, you said you didn't want to get in trouble with your dad, you think he'd still be pissed if you came home now, or would you like to stay the night?"

"I mean... I don't know. It's probably fine for me to go back," Lasercorn shrugged.

"Okay. If you're sure. We can walk back to school then?"

"Yeah. Sounds good," Lasercorn said. Everyone followed Sohinki back downstairs and out of the house. They walked back to the school, picked up their cars, and Sohinki was left alone in the parking lot. Weird how he'd considered them all acquaintances that morning, and now... they were kind of friends. After a moment, he turned and walked back home.

Ian was out of school for another day, but came back on Thursday. His concussion was extremely mild, so he didn't need that much time off. Third period, he met up with Anthony and the kids they were tutoring in the library.

"Good, you're all here," Ian said as he sat down.

"Uh, yeah? Why wouldn't we be?" Shayne said. Ian shrugged.

"You'd be surprised."

"Damn, what happened to your face?" Courtney asked.

"Oh my god, did you get in a fight?" Keith asked.

"Um... maybe?" Ian said, slightly embarrassed.

"Holy shit, really? That's so cool," Shayne said.

"Not really, I totally got my ass kicked," Ian admitted. Shayne shrugged.

"Still cool."

"I'd like to assure you, it was not cool seeing my best friend in the nurse's office with his face all messed up," Anthony said. Olivia frowned.

"Yeah, that would probably suck."

"Anyway. You guys have work you need help with?" Ian asked, and they got started. After the tutoring session, Shayne pulled Ian off to the side.

"Hey, Ian, you got a minute?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"So, you've been really helpful for me, and my friend was looking for a tutor for math, so I was thinking of recommending you and Anthony to him. Only thing is, he's not free Thursdays. Do you guys tutor any other times?" Shayne asked. Ian nodded.

"Yeah, we do. Same time on Tuesdays."

"Oh, cool! Also, uh, you got in a fight, right? Who were you, you know... fighting?"

"Um, a couple of juniors I think. Jack something... and maybe there was a Philip?" Ian frowned, trying to remember what Wes had told him their names were.

"I know them, they're assholes. Let me know if they give you trouble again, I'll talk to them," Shayne said seriously. Ian shook his head.

"I don't want you getting involved with them, from what I've seen of them, they're brutal. I can handle them."

"Alright, but know I've got your back. Like I said earlier, you've helped me a ton. I owe you one," Shayne said.

"You don't owe me anything, Shayne. I chose to do this, I'm just doing what I said I'd do."

"Still. You're a good guy, Ian."

"Thanks. You're a good guy too, Shayne."

The next Monday, the administrator in charge of tutoring whose name Ian honestly forgot came to him and said that a sophomore had requested to be tutored by him on Tuesdays. Ian figured this was the friend of Shayne's that he'd mentioned. He told the administrator he'd be happy to tutor anyone. When he and Anthony walked into the library the next day, their regulars were waiting for them, and seemed to be talking and laughing a lot more than they had the last time he'd seen them, and a younger looking guy was sitting there looking slightly out of place. Ian sat down next to him.

"Hey guys, how's everyone?"

"Great, but tired. Last night, we were at Sohinki's house and we stayed up until two playing Super Smash Bros," Wes smiled.

"Yeah, I crushed everyone!" Joven said.

"Joven, you lost like... almost every game," Mari said.

"Okay. That's not the way I remember it, but okay."

Ian had been keeping up with the group chat, so he knew about the nicknames, and the fact that they were... kind of friends now, but it was still kind of weird to see in person. Plus, he wanted to make the new guy feel welcome.

"Well, that sounds like fun, but you guys should probably sleep. Everyone, this is Damien, he's gonna be joining our... group. Tutoring group," Ian finished.

"Hey," Damien smiled and gave a small wave.

"Oh my god, you're adorable," Wes said.

"What grade are you in?" Sohinki asked.

"Um, I'm a sophomore," Damien said.

"Aw, a sophomore..." Wes said.

"Wes, we were sophomores last year," Mari said.

"Still..."

"Alright, well, let's make sure Damien feels welcome. Damn, I feel like a teacher now."

"You and Anthony are our teachers!" Wes said.

"Wow, that's too much responsibility for me," Anthony said.

"Alright, well we should get into actually working. Any of you have anything for us?" Ian asked. Damien and Wes both pulled out work to look over. Mari got out her math homework.

"I can help you with that if you want," Damien offered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure," Damien said, moving over to work with her.

"Okay, you were right Wes, he's adorable," Mari said.

"I'm always right about this things," Wes said.

"You're a cute expert because you're so cute yourself," Mari said. Wes laughed and flushed a little.

"Aw, thank you!"

"See? Cute."

The session went well. Ian was glad he'd stuck with the group. They had really just needed a little time to get comfortable with each other, and maybe some of them needed to... get in a fight or something.

The next couple of weeks, tutoring was going smoothly in both groups. The administrator whose name Ian kept forgetting approached him again, saying that they had another student who'd applied to get a tutor, and Ian had said he'd be glad to take on any more students. He said he'd be glad to tutor another student. That Tuesday, another sophomore joined their tutoring group.

"Hey, I'm Ericka Bozeman, but most people just call me Boze," The girl, Boze, introduced herself.

"Hi Boze, I'm Ian, this is Anthony. These are Mari, Wes, Joven, Damien, Lasercorn, and Sohinki," Ian said.

"Welcome," Joven said.

"Thanks."

The Tuesday group grew to really like Boze, and soon she was invited to hang out with them. After a couple months, both groups had shown a lot of progress, and their grades were all up at least a whole letter in whatever areas they'd asked for help with.

"I think we should do something for them," Ian said.

"Like... all of them?" Anthony asked.

"Yeah. We could get them all together for a party or something. Like a 'yay your grades are up' party."

"They don't really really know each other though," Anthony said.

"Damien and Shayne are really close. And come on, Courtney and Sohinki would definitely get along."

"Oh my god, Wes and Olivia..."

"Right?"

"And Olivia and Boze?"

"See, you're getting it. They'd totally get along, it'd be great."

"Okay, you're definitely right."

That Tuesday, Ian brought up the idea.

"So, Anthony and I were thinking... you guys have all made a lot of progress," Ian paused as they cheered as loudly as they could without the librarian shushing them before continuing. "Right. You guys have done a lot of work, and so has our Thursday group. So we were thinking, we'd have a little party or something to celebrate."

"I love parties!" Wes said.

"Wait, Shayne would get to meet these guys? I've been trying to find an excuse for them to meet for weeks," Damien said. Joven frowned.

"You know, you could've just asked to bring another friend sometime when we were hanging out."

"True. I don't know, I thought it might be weird."

"Well, you've got an excuse now, so..." Lasercorn trailed off.

"Okay. I was thinking everyone would come to my place, we'd order some pizzas, maybe get some candy, chips, popcorn, drinks, all that great stuff. We could play some games, like, video games, board games, party games, all that fun stuff. Maybe we could watch a movie too. And you guys could stay over if you wanted," Ian said.

"Okay, that sounds really fucking fun," Boze said.

"Yeah," Wes agreed.

"Alright! We'll confirm with the Thursday group, and then we'll make a big group chat to plan!" Ian said.

"Sick," Damien said.

It was about as popular on Thursday as it had been on Friday.

"Wait, so Dames is gonna get to meet these guys? I've been looking for a reason to get them to hang out for ages," Shayne said. Anthony and Ian shared a look.

"You... could've invited him to hang out, Shayne," Courtney said.

"Oh yeah, but... I don't know. I feel like I had a reason, I forgot it," Shayne shrugged.

"Anyway, does that sound like a good idea?"

"I think it sounds fun," Noah said.

"Cool. Then I'll just make the group chat really quickly... and... alright, you should all be added," Ian said.

They planned that afternoon. They would have the party the next Saturday at Ian's. It would start at five, and go until the next day. When Saturday arrived, Ian spent the day preparing. He was really proud of everyone, and he wanted to do something special for them that would make an impact, and make them want to work even harder.

He had a couple of party games, and he brought them down to the basement, where the party would be held. There were a couple more he'd read about on the internet that might be fun, and of course he was planning on playing truth or dare or never have I ever at some point. He poured some chips and pretzels he had in the pantry into bowls, and popped some popcorn to bring downstairs as well. A little after that, Anthony came over.

"You want to head to the store to grab some more food?" Anthony asked.

"Sure. Safeway?"

"You know it."

They were in the candy aisle picking out a couple things of sour gummy worms, a bag of halloween candy, m&m's, skittles, and weird-ass black licorice candy that Sohinki liked for some reason, when Ian felt someone behind him. He turned, and there was the asshole who had given him a concussion, who he now knew was named Danny.

"Hello?" Ian said, nervous about what this guy wanted. Anthony turned to look as well, and glanced between the two. By the expressions on their faces, he pieced together who this guy was. He stepped forward.

"Do you need something?" Anthony asked. Danny took a step back.

"Look. I'm sorry I gave you a concussion or whatever. Can you get your friends off my back?" He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"My friend?" Ian asked, confused.

"Yeah, sophomores, two of them. Shayne Topp and Courtney Miller. They fuckin' egged and tp'd my house. It's not even Halloween! At least I think that was them, because then they found my mom on Facebook, and told her how I'd beat you guys up. Can you tell them to leave me alone now?"

"I... didn't tell them to do that. I actually told Shayne not to do anything. I'll tell them to knock it off," Ian frowned.

"Thanks," Danny said, stalking off. Anthony looked at Ian, eyebrows raised.

"That's... pretty badass of Court and Shayne."

"It totally is, and even if I told Shayne not to do anything. I'm going to tell them to knock it off because I'm pretty sure they could get in trouble for the whole... house thing, but still. They're definitely badass."

"Want to get more chips?"

"Totally."

After buying half of the junk food in Safeway, they drove back to Ian's house. Ian's mom saw them coming in with the food, and raised her eyebrows, impressed.

"You're really going all out for this party," She said. Ian nodded.

"Yeah. I'm really proud of them, you know? In more than one way. They've grown a lot academically, and as people too."

"I can tell you think really highly of them, from the way you talk about them. And I'm proud of you. You both have put a lot into helping these kids," Ian's mom said. Ian and Anthony smiled at each other.

"Thank you," Ian said.

"If you need any help setting up, let me know. Otherwise, I'll just be upstairs," She said.

"Will do!" Ian said, before grabbing a few more bowls and taking the food downstairs. He opened the other chip bags and poured them in bowls. He made a bowl for gummy worms too, and another for the halloween candy. Anthony was holding the m&m's, and Ian the skittles, when they realized they only had one bowl left. They could go upstairs and grab another bowl, or... they looked at each other and grinned, before opening the bags and pouring them into the same bowl. They had bought a couple bags of marshmallows too, which they tossed to the side with Noah's licorice candy. They set up the drinks next to those, and Anthony went upstairs to grab plates and cups.

While he did that, Ian went into the closet and started dragging out beanbag chairs and gaming chairs. He positioned them around the couch and the food. Anthony came back downstairs with the cups and plates, putting them next to the drinks.

"You need help with that?"

"If you want to grab that chair, you can," Ian said. Anthony obliged, pulling the last beanbag chair out of the closet and into the room. "Thanks."

"No problem, dude," Anthony smiled.

"So... there anything else we need to do?" Ian asked.

"I don't think so."

"Wanna play GTA?"

"Definitely," Anthony said, falling into one of the beanbag chairs.

An hour or so later, Ian's phone buzzed with a text. He paused the game and checked it.

"Yo, Lasercorn's outside."

"You want me to get the door?" Anthony asked.

"Nah, I can get it," Ian said, pulling himself to his feet and walking upstairs. He opened the door and invited the redhead inside.

"Hey, thanks for doing this... Everyone, Wes especially, is super excited, I don't think he's been to too many parties," Lasercorn said, voice low. Ian nodded.

"It's no problem. You guys earned it. Anthony and I have everything set up downstairs, so..."

"I'll head down there, right. Should I take my shoes off first?" Lasercorn asked.

"You can, if you want," Ian said. Lasercorn took of his shoes and put them next to the door. Just then, the doorbell rang and Ian pulled it open. Damien and Shayne were standing outside. "Hey!"

"Hi! Sorry, we're a little early," Damien said.

"You're fine, Lasercorn and Anthony are already here. Don't just stand there, come on inside!" Ian said, and the two stepped inside. Lasercorn was still in the hallway, and he smiled awkwardly at the two sophomores.

"Hey Lasercorn, this is my best friend Shayne," Damien introduced.

"Hi, I'm David, but my friends call me Lasercorn. I've heard a lot about you," Lasercorn said. Shayne laughed.

"Wow, I didn't know Damien talked about me that much. I'd introduce myself, but Damien already did that for me, so..."

"Like you don't talk about me just as much," Shayne good-naturedly punched Damien on the shoulder.

"I can confirm that you both talk about each other a lot. Like a lot," Ian said. The doorbell rang again, and Ian pulled open the door. Courtney and Olivia were standing outside.

"Hey, Ian! Oh, hey, Shayne!" Courtney said.

"Hi," Shayne waved.

"Courtney, Olivia, these are Lasercorn and Damien. Lasercorn and Damien, Courtney and Olivia," Ian said.

"Oh, you're that guy Shayne's always talking about!" Olivia said with a smile. Damien laughed.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Alright, do you guys want to head down to the basement?" Ian asked.

"Sure thing," Damien said after pulling off his shoes. Ian lead the way downstairs. Anthony looked up as they arrived.

"Whoa, that's a lot more than just Lasercorn," He said.

"Yeah, people kept coming, so..." Ian shrugged.

"Well we invited them, so I'm glad they showed up."

"Holy shit, that's a lot of candy," Courtney said.

"Wes is gonna love this," Lasercorn said, grabbing a handful of chips and taking a seat. Ian's phone buzzed twice in close succession.

"Oh, Sohinki's here, and so is Boze," He said. His phone buzzed again. "And so is Joven."

He headed upstairs to welcome everyone inside, and brought them downstairs where introductions continued. A few minutes later, Wes and Mari showed up, and finally Noah and Keith. Ian brought everyone downstairs and cleared his throat.

"Attention!" He said. The room quieted down. "Alright, welcome to the 'yay you're doing great' party! Um, even with all the exchanging of names, you probably don't know everyone's names, so we're gonna fix that. Uh, anyone up for two truths and a lie?"

The group cheered loudly.

"I'm taking that as a yes."

"Okay, so I'll go first. My name's Ian, which you all already know, or at least I hope you know that. Um... first off, I have a fear of bees. Second, my favorite pokemon is Squirtle. And third... I almost killed my sister once."

Anthony raised his hand almost immediately.

"Anthony, you can't answer."

"Seriously? I know this!"

"I know you know this, that's why you can't answer. Uh... Joven!"

"I think the lie is... that you're afraid of bees."

"That is... incorrect!"

"What? You don't seem like you'd be afraid of bees, you seem like more of, more of an afraid of heights guy," Joven said.

"Nope, hate bees. They're terrifying."

"So what's the lie?" Boze asked. Anthony raised his hand. Ian sighed.

"Yes, Anthony?"

"Your favorite Pokemon is actually Ditto!"

"That's correct. My favorite Pokemon is Ditto."

"How'd you almost kill your sister dude?" Damien asked.

"I put the plastic from a Snapple bottle in her drink, and she choked on it," Ian said.

"Damn."

"Yeah, I feel really bad about it, especially because it was her birthday. Alright, Joven, you're up next since you guessed," Ian said. Joven considered what to say.

"Okay. Alright. I got this. I can't cook for shit, I am banned from a particular Target location, and I hate surprises."

"Uh, can I give this a try?" Lasercorn asked.

"Sure."

"I think that... I'm pretty sure you can cook... No, is it the Target thing? That seems kinda unbelievable... which makes it a perfect decoy if you actually are..."

"You going to guess anytime soon? It's not that big a deal, man," Mari said.

"Give me a second, Jesus. Um... yeah, I'm going with my gut on this. You can totally cook," Lasercorn said.

"You're right, I can cook. I cook dinner for my family most of the time, actually," Joven admitted.

"How'd you get banned from Target?" Shayne asked.

"Legally, I can't say."

"What?"

"Moving on!"

"So, I'm next?" Lasercorn asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's see... I'm Lasercorn, and Bulletstorm is my favorite game, I'm afraid of the teletubbies, and I was held back in first grade."

"Can I guess this one?" Wes asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Um... I think it's the teletubbies thing."

"That is, sadly, incorrect. I was actually held back in kindergarten."

"Wow, Lasercorn's afraid of teletubbies? That's wild," Mari said.

"Shut up Mari!"

"Whatever. Um, Wes, it's your turn, right?"

"Yeah. Hi everyone, I'm Wes. I'm... allergic to bananas, I wanted to be a spy when I was younger, and my middle name is Mitchell."

"Can I guess this one?" Sohinki asked.

"Okay!"

"I think that Mitchell isn't your middle name."

"You're right, my middle name is Alan."

"Oh, okay, cool. I honestly thought I was gonna get that wrong."

"Well, good job, you know me well!" Wes beamed. Sohinki smiled as well, clearly at least a little proud of the fact that he had gotten it right.

"My turn. Alright, people call me Sohinki, I'm part Arab, I hate sour gummy worms, and I'm Jewish."

"Can I guess?" Mari asked.

"Go ahead. Let's see how well you know me..." Sohinki raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, I know you're Jewish. So that's a truth. And I'm pretty sure the first thing you went for when you got in here were the gummy worms, so... I've gotta say that's the lie," Mari finished.

"Yeah, you're right, I love that shit. I just suck at coming up with lies!"

"My name's Mari, and I am not easily scared, I love dancing, and I never learned to ride a bike."

"Ooh, I know this!" Boze said excitedly.

"Okay, Boze."

"You're super easy to scare. That's definitely the lie."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Wait, we gotta teach you how to ride a bike, oh my god," Joven said.

"Whoa, okay," Mari said, clearly overwhelmed. Joven looked like he was about to say something else when Boze spoke up.

"Okay, my turn now! I'm Boze, I'm not ticklish, I don't know how to swim, and I once exploded my microwave."

"Uh, wow. Can I guess this?" Damien asked.

"Shoot."

"Okay, I don't doubt that you've blown up your microwave. I'm going with my gut and saying that's a truth. And I don't know if this is true or not, but I think it'd be totally hilarious if you were ticklish, so... I'm just hoping I'm right and you're actually ticklish," Damien said, sounding unsure.

"You're right. I'm ticklish as hell, but don't test that if you want to keep all of your limbs," Boze threatened.

"Okay, wow. Okay. Not going to do that then. Um, my name's Damien, I skipped the second grade, I'm allergic to corn and horses, and my favorite food as a toddler was squid."

"Can I guess for Damien, or is that cheating?" Shayne asked. Ian considered this.

"I am going to allow it," He said after a moment. Anthony threw his hands up.

"What, and I can't guess you?"

"No, you can't. Moving on. Shayne, you were guessing?"

"Yeah, uh... I know you're allergic to both corn and horses... is it the squid? I feel like you wouldn't like squid," Shayne guessed. Damien smirked.

"Incorrect! You don't know me well enough Shayne, you aren't my friend anymore!"

"Wait, so it was the second grade thing?"

"Yeah, it was the second grade thing. I loved squid. Still do, actually, squid is great."

"Oh, okay. Um, then I guess it's my turn. Hello, my name is Shayne Topp, you may know of me from that Target commercial I was in when I was three, unfortunately, Joven, you can't buy any of what I was selling."

"It's only one location! I can go to any Target except for one!" Joven protested.

"That's what you think. Anyway, my favorite game is the Last of Us. Killer game, it's sick. Uh, I have a scar across my abdomen, and I have been suspended," Shayne said.

"Ooh ooh ooh, pick me! Shayne, pick me!" Courtney said.

"Do any of you hear something? I think a window blew open. No? Does anyone want to guess?" Shayne asked, exaggerating looking around the room.

"Me, Shayne!"

"Okay, I'm just gonna pick... Courtney!" Shayne pointed at Courtney.

"Yay! Um, I don't think you've been suspended, you're a good boy."

"That's correct. Never been suspended."

"Wow, aren't you special!" Damien said.

"You've never been suspended either?" Shayne looked at him curiously.

"Well, yeah, but I'm not making a big deal about it."

"My turn! I'm Courtney, I was in a fight back in eighth grade, I like DC more than Marvel, and... I failed my first driving test," Courtney said.

"I can guess!" Olivia said excitedly.

"Okay, Liv Liv!"

"You love Marvel!"

"So the lie is that she likes DC more than Marvel?" Anthony asked.

"Yeah," Olivia confirmed.

"She's right, that's the lie," Courtney said.

"Aw yeah, I knew it. Um, for me. I'm Olivia, I don't know how to ride a bike, I don't know how to swim, and I don't know how to dance," Olivia said.

"Damn, okay. Can I guess?" Noah asked.

"Go ahead."

"I know you can dance, actually. I've seen you dance."

"You're right, I can dance. You win," Olivia said. Noah laughed.

"Okay, my name's Noah. My birthday is February 16, my middle name is Andrew, and my great-grandfather is one of the founders of Israel."

"Lemme guess this. Okay, I know your middle name's Andrew... your birthday's in February, but I'm not sure it's the sixteenth... Yeah, that's a lie," Keith said.

"You are correct. My birthday's the fourteenth," Noah admitted.

"Okay, okay, cool. My name's Keith Leak Jr., I'm from Ohio, I love Michael Jackson, and my favorite color is blue."

"I have to guess now, right?" Anthony asked.

"Right," Ian confirmed.

"Got it. Uh... I really don't want to get this wrong... I know you love Michael Jackson, that's true... are you from Ohio? I feel like you're from Michigan. Yeah, I'm gonna guess that's the lie."

"You are... wrong! My favorite color's actually green."

"Oh, damn. Okay. Wait, this is unfair, Ian gets to guess for me, but I wasn't allowed to guess for him," Anthony said.

"Sorry, dude. Didn't think this far," Ian shrugged.

"Ugh, okay, I just have to make this really hard then. I'm Anthony, I hate tomatoes... I pee in the shower, and I got in a car accident when I was three."

"Okay, well I know you hate tomatoes, so that's the truth. But between the other two..."

"Hurry up Ian!" Lasercorn teased.

"Shut up, stop pressuring me! Um... car accident!"

"You're right, I've never been in a car accident."

"Woo! I do know my best friend!"

"Unlike some people," Damien glared at Shayne.

"Sorry, your fault for making it hard."

"Haha, that's what she said."

"You're an idiot."

"I love you too."

"Wow, hate to interrupt that moment, but is anyone up for some Cards Against Humanity?" Ian asked.

"Hell yeah!" Joven shouted.

They played Cards Against Humanity for... probably way longer than Cards Against Humanity should ever be played. After that, they played some Super Smash Bros, and then Truth or Dare. One highlight of Truth or Dare was the fact that all of them were terrible at coming up with dares, and just kept daring everyone to kiss each other. By the end, Ian was pretty sure everyone had kissed, with the exception of himself and Anthony kissing sophomores, because that kind of weirded him out. If one of them was sick, they were all probably going to get sick.

After Truth or Dare, they played a few rounds of Mario Kart and ordered some pizza. When the pizza got there, they watched the Breakfast Club, and then Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. Wes and Boze fell asleep during the first movie, and Olivia and Keith fell asleep during the second. After the second movie finished, Anthony and Ian went upstairs to grab sleeping bags and handed them out.

Ian got into his sleeping bag as Anthony turned off the lights. He stayed quiet as everyone's breathing slowly evened out. He was the last person awake. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled. He really hadn't known what he was getting himself into when he'd signed up to tutor kids. He'd gotten into his first fight, he'd made some really good friends, and he thought he'd helped some people out, which was great. He thought of Shayne and Courtney going after Danny for him (he should talk to them about that in the morning, as much as he appreciated it, they couldn't do illegal activities for him), and realized some people had helped him out too. He really was happy with where he was.

Sometimes, tutoring was like herding cats. Or children. Child-cats. Cat-children. Especially at the beginning. He honestly didn't get into tutoring for the right reasons at all. It wasn't because he wanted to help people, it was because he wanted to get credit for helping people, and he wanted to do it with his best friend. But he ended up getting a lot of great stuff out of it. Well, a lot of great stuff and a concussion. The concussion wasn't so great. But the friends and most of the experiences were.

He had people who had his back now. He definitely had their backs, he'd made that clear back in the bathroom. And they'd made it clear in the bathroom, and when they'd egged and TP'd Danny's house.

Ian was happy he'd signed up and stuck with tutoring. He was happy he'd had the experiences he had had. He was happy he'd made the friends he'd made. He was happy he'd helped the people who he'd helped. He was happy about who he'd done it with. And you know what?

Ian Hecox was just happy in general.

**Author's Note:**

> u can definitely tell i've never taken an ap class, tutored someone, or seen a Marijuana in my life, cant u?  
> also my mom never let me have a video game console  
> or let me buy video games more than once every 6 months  
> also my high school isn't technically a high school it's a lottery program and it's really small and a performing arts school so basically everyone's a theatre kid and that's probably not realistic  
> i'm really poorly equipped to write this, aren't i


End file.
